A Romantic Rival
by Marsie Halliwell
Summary: Kiba wears his emotions plainly, but apparently not all the time.


Hinata comes sprinting around a corner because she hears shouting, an argument, and barking—she recognizes it as Akamaru's, having spent enough time around him she could pick his bark out of throng of dogs.

The scene before her is thus: Naruto and Kiba have each other by the collars, and are about an inch from one another's faces. Akamaru is barking, as if he had been calling to Hinata on purpose. Both young men were red in the face from screaming.

"Oh _yeah_?"

"_Yeah_!"

"Well, I guess the only way to solve this is an actual fight. Right here, right now, Uzumaki," letting loose of the blond boy's collar Kiba shoved Naruto back.

In response Naruto came back at his opponent with the full intention of punching him in the face.

Distraught at her crush and teammate, Hinata squeaked and threw herself between the two, palms out, stopping them at arm's length from her. If they hadn't halted their actions when they did, they would have punched Hinata in the face (though it wouldn't have come to that as she was prepared to lay them out).

Each was just as startled as the other, staring at her as though she were wearing a ridiculous costume.

"H-hinata!" Kiba swallowed, lowering his fist.

Naruto lowered his as well. Her face displayed her concerned emotion, though she looked a little angrier than intended.

"What in the world is wrong with the two of you? What is so important that you're going to clobber one another over?" she inquired.

Kiba's face changed to a darker shade of red as he clenched his jaw and averted his eyes.

Naruto laughed and ran his hand through his hair. Neither replied.

"I'm afraid that wasn't a rhetorical question. I want an answer," looking between the two of them she grew impatient.

Naruto's eyes connected with Kiba's.

"Well, he said—

"Don't you start off trying to blame this on me!"

They tried getting around Hinata to get at each other.

"Stop it! Stop!" she shrieked.

In the blink of an eye she had activated her Byakugan and as swift as a coursing river hit several of each of the boy's tenketsu, disabling their legs.

The boys were now knelt on the ground, unable to stand, or walk away (unless they were to crawl).

"Now!" she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Tell me what all of this is about? Naruto-kun? Kiba-kun?"

Silence.

Hinata could be patient, she was the epitome of patient, in fact, but she had lost her art of patience this day.

"If you don't tell me what this is about, I'm going to… going to…" she tried to think of something clever, something that would force them to tell her what they were fighting about.

"…I'm going to take your wallets and leave you here while Akamaru and I go enjoy a nice meal, on you two!" she grinned as she finished, believing she was a genius.

Both were shocked, especially Kiba.

"We can still move our arms, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata's eye twitched and before the mouthy little shinobi could utter another word he couldn't move his arms.

Kiba knew better, he pulled his own wallet out and said, "Take it, just take it."

He felt that he could at least crawl home, it would be better than being left here unable to do anything.

This wasn't going in the direction Hinata expected.

"You're not supposed to give in," she said, with a certain whine to her words.

"You're supposed to tell me what you were fighting about, so I don't use all your money," she said.

She wouldn't feel like a good person if she made off with their money, she just wanted to know what this was all about.

"Why won't you tell me?"

Kiba didn't meet her eyes and Naruto's ears twitched.

"I-I will leave you here, all night!" she threatened, though she probably wouldn't.

Neither boy said a word.

"Ahaha…" Naruto laughed awkwardly. "You, Hinata-chan."

Hinata was confused, she looked at Naruto, and then at Kiba, whose fists were now clenched and he was back to his dark shade of red. Hinata could tell, though, that his color wasn't due to embarrassment. She knew Kiba well; this was rage. What was he so angry about?

"What about me, Naruto-kun?"

Clearing his throat he said, "That's what we were fighting about…" his eyes shifted.

She looked a Kiba, she swore she could hear him growling.

"You… you two… were fighting… over me?" she said it slow and it sounded as though she were questioning whether that was the question she was asking.

"Y-yeah…"

Kiba still remained silent, all but the faint growling Hinata hoped she was imagining.

"Fighting over me… about what? What do you mean?"

Now Naruto blushed. Kiba's fists tightened so much so that his knuckles were white. It was hard to tell in the shadow of the sunset, but Hinata thought she saw several small drops of blood on the ground beneath his fist.

"About being in love with you," a new voice joined the group.

Sitting on the fence to their left was Shino. He'd been watching from the beginning, before Hinata joined.

"Sh-shino-kun," Hinata said, slightly startled.

Now she laughed awkwardly, acting unlike herself.

"Ahaha, you two c-crack me up…" she pretended to laugh more genuinely, but it was all wrong.

Still, why was Kiba so angry about it?

"H-hinata-chan? Can you please let me have use of my arms and legs now? I'm starting to get hungry…"

She'd gotten her answer, though from neither of them.

"O-of course."

Both had seemingly settled down, though Kiba refused to look Hinata in the eye.

Naruto had begun to leave, but before continuing he turned around and smiled a big goofy one, "I'll see you later, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata smiled and blushed, waving at him.

"I'm going home," Kiba snarled the words as he stalked past Hinata, and Shino who was now standing beside her. He almost bumped into Hinata, but didn't even make to apologize.

Hinata's heart thumped.

"I don't understand it, myself. But I think that's why he wants to be Naruto's rival," Shino commented, as if reading her mind.

Hinata looked up at Shino, who was staring at his best friend as he disappeared in the distance.


End file.
